In May, 2020, Nepal’s Parliament unanimously issued a new political map showing Kalapani, Limpiyahura and Lipulekh as Nepali territories. All political parties supported the initiative of the then government under CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.

However, it appears that the then government did not follow the due process to make the new map acceptable to the international community, including the neighbors—India and China. The government should have informed the United Nations, Google and other international communities, but it didn’t, in all likelihood. The Department of Survey printed the English version of the map, but it was not circulated to the international community.

Speaking at a program on Sunday, Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said, “We have not officially communicated with the international community about the new map, ministers of the previous government are claiming that they have informed the international community but I have no record of such communication taking place.”

On 28 Aug 2023, China published its ‘standard map’, which did not show the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas inside Nepal. 

Amid this controversy, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads, “Nepal stands firm and clear on its political and administrative map that the Parliament unanimously approved in 2020. The Government of Nepal unequivocally believes that our neighbors as well as the international community must respect 

this map.” 

According to the ministry, Nepal remains committed to resolving the boundary matters through dialogues and diplomacy.

Meanwhile, the International Relations Committee of the Parliament is planning to take the foreign ministry to task regarding its take on the map controversy.

“There are conflicting claims from the then and current ministers about the map, so we are preparing to seek a clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Raj Kishor Yadav, the committee chair